Critic Reviews
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“Paradise” is still worth tuning into for solid performances by the lead cast and occasional high concept thrills. But it’s hardly distinguishing itself from a relatively mid selection of shows being offered to us in the genre.
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Cheesy lines and predictable turns will not be the death of the show. It looks great and has a lot to offer, and as long as your expectations aren’t too high, it will get the job done.
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While Paradise is intriguing, you could get whiplash as the show veers from poignant meditation on end-of-the-world loss to harrowing action sequences and contrived cliffhangers. It's a lot, but could be more. [10 Feb - 2 Mar 2025, p.4]
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Thus far, I find Paradise guilty of weird outbursts of soapiness, but with enough else (anger, mysteries, unease) to keep it interesting.
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[Brown] gives gravity to material that can at times be thin and/or overly familiar. Marsden, Nicholson, Shahi, McRaney (another This Is Us alum) and others all have strong moments at different points, in either the past or the present. But the stories themselves are on the bland and predictable side, whether as individual pieces or combined together across these multiple genres. The one exception is the seventh and final episode critics were given in advance, which is set primarily on the day the world as we know it came to an end, showing all of the impossible, at times monstrous, decisions that Cal, Xavier, and others had to make.
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A moreish if preposterous murder-mystery wrapped up in a swing-for-the-fences premise. If you think you know what to expect going in, think twice — it’s far more than just another day in paradise.
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The series’ main plot conceit is indeed a mirage, a fake-out trick that crumbles upon closer inspection and isn’t developed enough. It’s hard to get behind this show and equally difficult to get beyond it.
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Perhaps in the finale "Paradise" could pull it all together into a satisfying conclusion that makes me forgive the dreary middle episodes. But unfortunately the quality of the series is on as downward of a trajectory as the doomed lives of its characters.
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On a scene-to-scene basis, the series can be gripping. But the disconnect between its lofty themes and the shallowness of its characters and world-building undermines its grand ambitions. What might have been an insightful commentary on the fate of the human race becomes merely big, twisty, and in some cases extremely silly entertainment.
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Julianne Nicholson does her best as a brittle tech guru, and Brown has charisma to spare as the befuddled hero, but the whole endeavour is as superficial and glossy as a Super Bowl half-time ad.